Library Bytegeist

Enjoy this clip from a new podcast that Library Bytegeist host and producer, Molly Schwartz, has been working on! It's called Preserve This Podcast. You can find more information on our website, at www.preservethispodcast.org. Episode 18 transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVS-XXlEx3kggw9artPMjSDhkPQpSKpjURDi_Xut8hk/edit “The Podsucker” is a machine that Jason Scott built in his basement 15 years ago. Jason was trying to capture all the podcasts -- before they disappear. Preserve This Podcast is a series about how podcasts are disappearing. And what podcasters can do to save them. Follow along with our podcast preservation exercises by downloading the zine at [preservethispodcast.org][1]. - More about Jason Scott's podcast archiving work on [his website: ASCII by Jason Scott][2] - More about Dave Winer's RSS work on [his website: RSS on the desktop, 15 years later][3] - [Download/print our zine][4] from our website to prepare for Episode 1, coming out March 21st! [1]: http://preserve

This episode of Library Bytegeist is all about New York’s public libraries and the people who inhabit them. In a city that has a reputation for being inhospitable, many people have found a makeshift home away from home in the library. Leila Goldstein reports a story about the live-in custodians and their families who used to have apartments in NYPL. Noam Osband reports a story about Brooklyn Public Library's experiments with new furniture to make library spaces more flexible. Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cOp_s5z2S2vS0aFYVjsvn6U5p30QT_ByyDjX2WcQkxA/edit?usp=sharing Hosted and Produced by Molly Schwartz Reported features by Leila Goldstein and Noam Osband Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Music and Soundtracks: Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from the YouTube Audio Library “Rarified” by Podington Bear from www.soundofpicture.com "Magical Dirt" by Sir Cubworth from the YouTube Audio Library Closing track: "Red Hair, Blue Sky" by Monplaisir from the Free Music Archive Tools used to

This episode of Library Bytegeist is all about collectors and keepers. The people who go through life gathering and capturing and saving things. First up, we have a short story by Sarah Esocoff about Collector’s Night in NYC (minute 2:38 - 9:56). Then, we have an interview Nikki Silva, one half of a radio duo known as the Kitchen Sisters (minute 10:40 - 38:18). The Kitchen Sisters have produced hundreds of stories for NPR and other public radio programs. In this interview, Nikki breaks down how she and Davia Nelson find and use archival audio, and how they became accidental archivists in the process. The Kitchen Sisters are launching a new series called “The Keepers,” and they’re looking for stories about archivists, librarians, and curators. You can call The Keepers Hotline at 415-496-9049 and listen to their work on their podcast, "The Kitchen Sisters Present," part of Radiotopia's collective of independent producers. Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ejXGbKPEMWnAAIYF_-JuCWZlDpGkalbcg1yIkQX

The Dewey Decimal System is the most popular library classification system in the world. It was created by a man, named Melvil Dewey, in the late 1870's. And Dewey's system of classifying knowledge reflects his worldview as a white man living in the late 19th century. In this episode of Library Bytegeist, we break down the Dewey Decimal System and talk frankly about the power and pitfalls of classifying. We'll visit the Bard High School Early College in Queens to find out about how students there are planning to rebel from the Dewey Decimal System, and talk to Greg Cotton (Cornell College), Barbara Fister (Gustavus Adolphus College), and Dorothy Berry (Umbra Search Project). Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cnCgQFM3HYqN_EnZ8SV5TwP_-czrYtZAoqwKUDUC3dk/edit?usp=sharing Hosted and Produced by Molly Schwartz Editing help from the Metropolitan New York Library Council staff and Peter Balonon-Rosen Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Music and Soundtracks: Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from

One year ago today, we post the first episode of Library Bytegeist. Molly Schwartz, METRO’s Studio Manager who also hosts and produces LB, decided to take the 14th episode to put together a kind of “year in review.” It’s a look back at the year gone by, including audio snippets from past episodes, a short history of how the podcast came into being, and a reflection on all of the changes that METRO has been through in the past year. And there are also a couple of announcements about what’s in store for the future of LB … so listen away and stay tuned! Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Music and Soundtracks: “Wendy Critical Reader // Walter Scott // ASMR Page Turning” by ~tingleheads~ from YouTube Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from the YouTube Audio Library "Rodeo Show" by The Green Orbs from the YouTube Audio Library “Electric car start-up and drive away” by evsecrets from freesound.org “Car_Start_Drive_1.wav” by Duesenbert from freesound.org “Typing” by yugi16dm from freesound.org "Transmography”

GitHub is a great tool for collaborating and providing access to content -- which makes it a great tool for libraries and archives! Dinah Handel (NYPL) and Ethan Gates (NYU) taught an introductory GitHub workshop at METRO on August 2, 2017. This is a supplementary episode about what they covered in their workshop. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Related Links: METRO's website on GitHub: https://github.com/mnylc/mnylc.github.io XFR Collective: https://xfrcollective.wordpress.com/ Mango: Git Completely Decentralised: https://medium.com/@alexberegszaszi/mango-git-completely-decentralised-7aef8bcbcfe6 Music and Soundtracks: Opening and closing tracks: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from the YouTube Audio Library “All the Colors in the World” by Podington Bear from the Free Music Archive Tools used to record this podcast: Blue Yeti microphone: www.bluemic.com/products/yeti/ Transcribe: transcribe.wreally.com/app Reaper: www.reaper.fm/ Izotope Rx Plugins: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/repair-and-edit/rx.ht

Brandy McNeil is the Associate Director for Technology Education at the New York Public Library. Over 100,000 New Yorkers come through their TechConnect classes in 89 branch libraries across Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. We talk to Brandy about how she has expanded the program to include advanced computer programming classes as part of Project Code, and how these classes changed the life of Vera Zago, who quit her job to become a full-stack engineer. CORRECTION: The woman who donated her first paycheck back to NYPL had participate in TechConnect's office classes, not Project Code. Rough Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ieQNc3EEGGjxfTtE_eEmUA2fXjlv-R7tWlrZgZe-0fw/edit?usp=sharing Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Further Reading: “Library has site stuff: Coding classes at New York Public Library draw thousands, and 73% of the students are women” by Erica Perason in New York Daily News, June 8, 2015: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/coding-classes-nypl-draw-thousands-article-1.

Public libraries are important access points to the internet. But sometimes people use library computers to engage in activities that are controversial activities for public spaces, like watching pornography. We sat down with Rob Caluori, the Director of Information Technology for the Westchester Library System, to talk about the techniques libraries use to provide open, secure, and safe access to the internet. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Further Reading: American Council of the Blind v. Boorstin: http://www.leagle.com/decision/19861455644FSupp811_11311.xml "Braille Playboy Under Fire" by Lloyd Grove, July 19, 1985 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/07/19/braille-playboy-under-fire/3683a16a-8a3d-471b-8d6c-c0a7e2e72cc5/?utm_term=.6b9a53bc5562 FAQs on E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/universal-service-program-schools-and-libraries-e-rate Music and Soundtracks: Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald from the YouTube Audio Library "Rode

Ilona Kish is the program director of Reading & Writing Foundation in Brussels, Belgium. She stopped by METRO's offices on June 21, 2017 to give a talk about the initiatives she has led to harmonize library lobbying efforts in the EU. We had a quick chat about some of the topics she covered, including the importance of getting MEPs into the library and some of her favorite libraries in Europe. ools used to record this podcast: Blue Yeti microphone: www.bluemic.com/products/yeti/ Transcribe: transcribe.wreally.com/app Reaper: www.reaper.fm/ Izotope: www.izotope.com/en/products/repai…plug-in-pack.html Music and Soundtracks: Opening track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald Closing track from the Free Music Archive: "All the Colors in the World" by Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Indie_Folk/All_The_Colors_In_The_World

In this live recording at BRIC Media Arts for the Public Access / Open Networks exhibit, Molly was joined by the New America Foundation's Raul Enriquez and Gowanus Digital Steward Mario Peart to talk about the community-run mesh wifi networks they are setting up around Brooklyn to build resilient communities. Links: New America Foundation's RISE:NYC initiative: https://www.newamerica.org/resilient-communities/flexible-future-ready-networks/rise-nyc/ Public Access / Open Networks exhibit at BRIC: https://www.bricartsmedia.org/art-exhibitions/public-accessopen-networks Music and Soundtracks: Opening and closing track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald Recorded live by BRIC staff

Data artist Jer Thorp has a dream of putting an artist in every library. In this episode we explore the benefits and challenges of hosting artist residencies in libraries through open conversations with Jer Thorp, Ben Vershbow, Jenny Odell, Steve Keene, Trent Miller, and Laura Damon-Moore about the artist residencies that have been hosted at NYPL, Brooklyn Public Library, and Madison Public Library. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Links “An Artist in Every Library” by Jer Thorp: https://medium.com/@blprnt/an-artist-in-every-library-c0df05bf3c9 “Art at the Edge of Tomorrow” by Jer Thorp: https://medium.com/@blprnt/art-at-the-edge-of-tomorrow-b78ad9302abe “Peripheral Landscapes: The Art of Maps: A conversation with artist Jenny Odell and geospatial librarian Matt Knutzen” https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2015/05/01/peripheral-landscapes-art-maps?hspace=299647 “Brooklyn Public Library Names Steve Keene as Artist-in-Residence for NYC Debut:” https://www.bklynlibrary.org/media/press/brooklyn-public

What is it like to restore audio on classic films? For this bite-sized Bytegeist we sat down with Gabe Liberti to talk about his time as an audio restoration engineer at the Criterion Collection. These days Gabe uses his sound engineering skills to design interactive installations as part of the design duo, Dave and Gabe: http://www.daveandgabe.care/ For more about the degradation and obsolescence of magnetic media, check out episode 4, where we talk to Rachel Mattson about the XFR Collective: https://soundcloud.com/librarybytegeist/rachelmattson Audio mastering by Dalton Harts Tools used to record this podcast: Blue Yeti microphone: www.bluemic.com/products/yeti/ Transcribe: transcribe.wreally.com/app Reaper: www.reaper.fm/ Izotope: www.izotope.com/en/products/repai…plug-in-pack.html Music and Soundtracks: Opening and closing track: “Magic” by Otis MacDonald This podcast uses these sounds from freesound: Katana by Halleck (http://www.freesound.org/people/Halleck/) Flute by Uncle Sigmund (http://www.fre

Libraries have always been places for free and unfettered intellectual exploration. But how is this threatened by the inherent leakiness and insecurity of the networks we use to access information these days? In this episode we talk to Alison Macrina, Bill Marden, Melissa Morrone, Chuck McAndrew, and Phoebe Stein about privacy policies, CryptoParties, Tor relays, and other adventures. CORRECTION: The episode says that Chuck's surveillance self-defense courses can be found at leblibrary.org -- the website is actually leblibrary.com. Here is a link: https://leblibrary.com/online-self-defense Related Articles and Resources: BPL's Digital Privacy Curriculum: http://www.dataprivacyproject.org/ Protecting Patron Privacy, Library Journal, July 14, 2016 by Alison Macrina http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/07/digital-resources/protecting-patron-privacy/ ALA Questions and Answers on Privacy and Confidentiality http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&Co

Saving love letters in the digital age can be tricky. Iris Lee, a metadata analyst at the American Museum of Natural History, came up with a clever solution for saving the text messages between her and her partner off her old cell phone. Dr. Michelle Janning, professor of sociology, and Davy Rothbart, founder and editor of FOUND Magazine, weigh in with their thoughts about how and why people save love messages. Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/154QxtwOIHHkDCmLb8qzS1ijS2N6ZpJyKlZFWyCxRKXU/edit?usp=sharing Related Books, Articles, and Links: Dr. Michelle Janning’s upcoming book, The Stuff of Family Life: How Our Homes Reflect Our Lives published by Rowman & Littlefield: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442254794/The-Stuff-of-Family-Life-How-Our-Homes-Reflect-Our-Lives FOUND Magazine: http://foundmagazine.com/ FOUNDpodcast: https://www.facebook.com/FOUNDpodcast/ Cassettes from My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves, by Jason Bitner, co-founder of FOUND Magazine: https://www.amazon

In this episode, Molly talks with Dr. Rachel Mattson about her work as a member of the XFR Collective, an all-volunteer group of over 14 members, does the work that it does, partnering with artists, activists, individuals, and groups to preserving at-risk audiovisual media – especially unseen, unheard, or marginalized works, like this gay wedding celebration – by providing low-cost digitization services. Please read below for more information about the XFR Collective and the tools we used to produce this podcast. Here is a link to a rough transcript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yf3iDqDTA9sw_YfEpS-c-m4kTiLzR03wIy7IKszuY1M/edit?usp=sharing Related Articles and Links XFR Collective’s website: https://xfrcollective.wordpress.com/ “At a Queer Film Festival, a Collective Offers to Digitize Your Videos for Free” by Sarah Cowan, published November, 2015 in Hyperallergic http://hyperallergic.com/253658/at-a-queer-film-festival-a-collective-offers-to-digitize-your-videos-for-free/ “Preser

In this episode, Molly talks with Dr. Shannon Mattern about New York City's LinkNYC program and the troubles it has faced in trying to provide public access to the internet on the city streets. The discussion revolves around how involving librarians and archivists in the planning process could bring some wisdom to smart city developments. Here is a link to a rough transcript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12rbIr4PFTEqf2Bgv9fBqWNDF1dfnWuAUQTK-M11Ww3w/edit?usp=sharing Village Voice article: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/google-is-transforming-nycs-payphones-into-a-personalized-propaganda-engine-8822938 Shannon Mattern's article "Public In/Formation in the journal Places: https://placesjournal.org/article/public-information/#ref_4 Mayor DeBlasio on shutting off LinkNYC browsing privileges for WNYC: http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/741-16/transcript-mayor-de-blasio-appears-live-wnyc Nick Pinto's article "Google Is Transforming NYC's Payphones Into a 'Personalized Propagand

In this episode of Library Bytegeist, we sat down with Ben Fino-Radin, a Media Conservator at MoMA, to talk about his approach to media conservation, what to do when art installations involve super computers, and his favorite old medium. Many thanks to Kate Lewis, Ben Fino-Radin, Peter Oleksik, and the Time-Based Media Art team at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for their online writings that gave me the background information for this podcast. All who are interested in further reading about media conservation should check out the following links: Posts in "Media Conservation" on the Inside/Out blog: https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/category/media-conservation/ Time-Based Media Conservation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: https://www.guggenheim.org/conservation/time-based-media Matters in Media Art: https://www.moma.org/explore/collection/conservation/media_art Intro and closing music is "Magic" by Otis McDonald.

This is an introduction and discussion with the three METRO fellows: Katie Martinez, Karen Hwang, and Molly Schwartz. They talk about why Google searches don't take you inside library catalogs, how email preservation is becoming more of a priority, and what the opportunities are for libraries and archives to adopt new media for storytelling. Intro and closing music is "Magic" by Otis McDonald.